This page is an entry in the Key.
strictest common denominator
{read through again}
The term “strictest common denominator” reflects TTG’s incorporation of the strongest possible response to every one of the major concerns about trustworthiness in photographs, not just one perspective.
Even viewers who don’t share others’ concerns will dismiss any label that doesn’t address their own personal concerns about photographic trustworthiness.
For example, viewers will not trust a photograph labeled as “undoctored” if it was made using a definition of “undoctored” that is less strict than the viewer’s own definition.
Thus TTG takes seriously the biggest concern of each faction in the conversation about “photographic trust” and groups those concerns into the Trust Test.
If one set of viewers is most concerned about “doctoring,” and if
another set of viewers is most concerned about “subject manipulation,” and if
a third set of viewers is most concerned about “composites,”
. . . then the Trust Test must incorporate all three of those things (as well as all other major concerns) if the label is to be useful and trusted.
The “strictest common denominator” model also applies within the 9 characteristics that the Trust Test checks for.
For example, if one viewer defines “doctored” one way and another viewer defines “doctored” a different way, any “undoctored” label like TTG will have to incorporate both viewers’ definitions or it won’t be trusted by both viewers.
Why isn’t TTG’s definition of “undoctored” more strict?
Why not make a “trust”-related standard that is like TTG but less strict?